White Noise
by OlivePeace1213
Summary: "But in this moment, Jughead really wished that he knew sign language..." This story is an AU, where Betty is deaf. Definitely Bughead and inspired by Riverdale.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: Hello everyone!  
I thought that I would share a story that has been spinning around in my head for the past few days. This story is an AU where Betty is deaf and Jason's murder hasn't taken place.  
This is a total Bughead fanfic and I just thought I'd try and share it with the world. **

" **This is oral speech"  
"** _ **This is oral speech with signing"  
This is signing without oral speech.  
'this is personal/inner thoughts. **_

**Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome! Thank you!**

Jughead watched as Archie and Betty were having a heated conversation and he really wished in that moment, that he knew sign language so that he could have some sort of inkling as to what had upset Betty so much.

When Betty got sick with meningitis all those years ago, Archie didn't hesitate to learn sign language alongside his best friend. He became fluent in the language so that Betty would always have someone to communicate with. While Jughead had wanted to learn sign language, it was more difficult for him. He had to focus on his home life that was falling apart; he didn't have to time to learn another language, no matter how much he wanted to.

But in this moment, Jughead really wished that he knew sign language. Finally having enough of being excluded from the conversation, Jughead slapped the table to get Betty's attention.

"What is going on between you two?" He asked looking at Betty to make sure she could understand him.

Her face flushed a little bit with embarrassment, and she spoke aloud for the first time in ten minutes. "Archie spoke for me in class and I didn't appreciate it." Betty explained.

"What do you mean, he spoke for you in class?"

" _I was just trying to help you."_ Archie said.

"Well stop. I can speak for myself." Betty said defiantly.

Archie shook his head and got up, "I have to go." He said before leaving.

Betty and Jughead both watched Archie walk away and once Jughead looked back at Betty, he could tell she was still upset.

"Betty," Jughead said, touching her hand to get her attention, "What happened?"

She sighed, "We were discussing Crime and Punishment in class and I was bringing up a point that I thought was interesting, but everyone was having a hard time understanding me." She said. "I got a little flustered when Mr. Wells asked me to repeat myself and I think that made me speak worse."

"Betty, that happens to everyone." Jughead said trying to make her feel better.

"I know, but before I could have my interpreter clarify what I said, Archie jumped in and spoke for me. As if I didn't have a voice myself. As if my opinion was that easily taken." She explained.

Jughead reached across the table and grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry Betty."

"It's just, I always have an interpreter speaking for me and I don't need anyone else doing it for me." Betty said.

Jughead rubbed her hand a little bit with his thumb, trying to make her feel better. "Betty, I can't imagine what it's like for you. But I wouldn't want anyone speaking on my behalf thinking they know my opinion and thoughts either."

"Thank you Juggie." Betty said, finally smiling.

"Anything to see you smiling again." He said without thinking, which caused him and her to blush a little. Jughead looked down at the table and noticed that he was still holding her hand. They were having a moment and it scared Jughead, which caused him to remove his hand from hers.

"Lunch is about over, we need to get to class." He told her. "I'll see you at the Blue and Gold later." He promised.

"I'll see you later, Jughead." Betty said, giving him a smile, which he quickly returned before he left for class.

Betty was astounded by the amount of empathy and support that Jughead had showed her today. She knew that he cared about her, but it always seemed like Jughead had something else to worry about; he was always distracted by his home life to really get involved in anyone else's problems.

And their little moment? Had she imagined it? Him holding her hand and comforting her had meant the world to her. Especially because he really tried to understand what she was feeling. Whereas Archie wouldn't even listen to her. He thought since he knew sign language and knew her very well, that he could just take her voice from her.

Betty shook her head. She wouldn't let this one bad incident ruin her day. With that one bad incident, a good one came out of it. She smiled thinking of the way Jughead had held her hand. She couldn't wait to see him later.

Jughead watched as Betty talked to her interpreter outside of the Blue and Gold. He wondered what they were talking about, but he didn't want to spy. That was rude, even though he didn't know what they were saying.

Once Betty was in the room with him, he casually asked her what they were talking about.

"I was telling him that I didn't need his assistance for the rest of the day." Betty said. "I don't really need an interpreter around you."

"No, I don't think you do." Jughead said, giving her a smile.

Both Betty and Jughead went to work on their next edition of the paper. Jughead was covering a piece about the food quality that was being served to them during lunch and Betty was working on a piece that covered the art show last week.

After working respectfully on their pieces, Jughead thought it was time for them to close shop for the day.

"I'll walk you home." Jughead offered and Betty accepted.

On their walk home, Jughead and Betty talked about their day and their classes. Betty hadn't talked to Archie since he walked away from her earlier and she wasn't how to feel about that. Jughead tried to reassure her that Archie would come around, he just needed to take a step back and try to understand things from her perspective.

"You know," Betty said, "I like that you're back."

"What do you mean?" Jughead asked confused as to what she meant.

She shrugged, "You've been caught up in your own world for a while. It's like you're not really with us when we're all together." She clarified. "I haven't seen you this involved since we were younger."

"You're right." Jughead admitted. "Things have been hard and it's been easier for me to retreat into myself. But I'm trying not to break out of that."

"What caused this change?" Betty asked.

Jughead shrugged and smiled at her, "I'm not sure."

Betty smiled and shook her head. She was pretty sure she knew that something or more specifically _someone_ had caused him to be open to the world again. She just hoped that it was her.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She promised once they had reached her house.

"Have a good night Betty." He said before she went into her house.

It was pretty obvious that Betty had caused him to realize how much he had retreated into himself. He knew that he had been a pretty lousy friend for a long time now and he knew where he had to start to begin making up for how lousy he had been.

Once Jughead had gotten home for the night, he downloaded several apps to learn sign language and bookmarked several websites to help him.

He wanted to prove to Betty that he was trying.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the follows & favorites!**

" **This is oral speech"  
"** _ **This is oral speech with signing"  
This is signing without oral speech.  
'this is personal/inner thoughts.'**_

 **Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome! Thank you!**

Jughead was smart. Maybe that was pretentious to think, especially since his grades didn't always reflect that sentiment, but he honestly was smart. Clever even. Growing up, he had read anything and everything, trying to escape the world in which he found himself. Because of this, he was very well read with an expansive vocabulary. Not only was he gifted in terms of literature, but he was able to easily pick up on all the subjects in school that were introduced to him.

So when Jughead had decided that he needed to learn sign language, he knew that he had to be diligent about it. Every night before he went to bed, he would study five new signs. When he woke up in the morning, he would use those signs and build on what he had learned the previous day.

It was difficult, because sign language is its own language, with its own grammar – something Jughead hadn't realized before. This made him admire Betty – and even Archie – because they were able to switch between the languages with such ease. This is something Jughead wanted and he was desperately working hard to achieve it.

The only problem was that he hadn't told Betty that he was learning her language. He wanted to surprise her. But this was difficult because he didn't exactly have anyone to practice with and whenever Betty and Jughead were together, she didn't sign – something he didn't quite understand.

Jughead shook his head, trying to get the nerve to ask Betty something in sign language. The 80's/90's themed dance was fast approaching and he wanted to ask her, but he wanted to ask her in her own language. He hoped that this would show how much he cared for her, even though he was working hard at getting closer to her the past couple of weeks.

Taking a deep breath, Jughead grabbed Betty's attention by knocking on the table in front of her. The vibrations from the knock caused her to look up from her work and give Jughead her full attention.

 _Do you want to go to the dance with me?_ He signed slowly, hoping to get each sign right.

Jughead watched as Betty's face turned from shock to happiness. She smiled as she signed, _yes!_

Jughead smiled back, almost not quite believing what she signed back to him.

" _I've been practicing"_ Jughead told her, trying to sign the best he could. He knew it wasn't perfect, but he wanted to try.

"Just to ask me to the dance?" Betty asked, still not signing to Jughead.

" _Not just for that reason"_ He said. " _I'm making up for lost time."_ He told her honestly. " _Could you please sign to me so that I can get better?"_

" _Yes. Thank you, Jughead."_ She said and Jughead noticed that she had fingerspelled his name, which confused him. He had learned about name signs and wondered why Betty hadn't given him one. Was it because he hadn't made the effort to learn sign language until now?

" _Can I ask you something?"_ Jughead asked, which caused Betty to nod her head. " _What is your name sign?"_

She smiled and showed him her name sign. _"What does that mean?"_ He asked.

" _It means ponytail. My ASL teacher gave me the name. It fits, don't you think?"_ She asked.

Jughead smiled, he could remember a time when Betty didn't wear her hair up, " _Yes."_ He answered.

Later that night, the two of them found themselves at Pop's, sitting across from each other. Jughead was enjoying a hamburger and onion rings, while Betty was enjoying a vanilla shake, she had dinner with her family tonight and didn't want to completely ruin her apetite. They were talking about anything and everything, which Jughead was happy about. Betty was finally signing to him and he could feel himself picking up on new things that he just couldn't get from just reading about the language.

" _Have you ever been to a dance before?"_ Betty asked Jughead nervously.

" _No,"_ he admitted _. "It has never really been my scene."_ He had to fingerspell the word scene and waiting for Betty to show him the correct sign for scene, which he then repeated after her.

" _What makes it your scene now?"_ She asked.

Jughead shrugged, feeling a blush creep up on him. " _I don't want to continue retreating into myself."_ He told her honestly.

" _I've never been to a dance before either."_ She admitted, seeing that Jughead was a bit embarrassed about his answer.

" _Why?"_ Jughead asked, completely surprised by her answer.

" _It never really seemed like my scene either. With not being able to hear and all."_ She said pointing to her ears and hearing aids. _"My mom has always wanted to me to go, mostly because she wants me to be normal."_ Betty said.

" _Normal?"_ Jughead questions.

Betty nods. " _When I lost my hearing all those years ago, my mom freaked out. She suddenly had a deaf child and she didn't know what to do. She signed me up for speech therapy so that I could still communicate well. She signed me up for ASL classes so that I wouldn't be fully cut off from the deaf world. She wants me to be perfect and normal and being deaf taints that, where she feels like I have to continuously do things to make up for it."_

This was hard for Jughead to listen to, but he now understood why Betty was always busy with extracurricular activities and why she was a 4.0 student. He had a bad home life, but apparently so did Betty. This was something he could relate to and he wanted her to know that. _"Betty, I'm sorry."_ Jughead told her. " _I don't really know what it feels like to live up to unrealistic expectations."_ Jughead said, stumbling with his signs. " _But what I do know, is that you're amazing. If your parents don't realize that, then they aren't seeing the real you."_

Jughead watched Betty as she processed what he said. He was worried that he had over stepped and said something he shouldn't have or that he had signed so terribly that she couldn't understand him. But as he watched a small smile come to her lips, he knew that she had understood him and he knew that he had gotten through to her.

" _Thank you, Juggie."_ She said.

It was hard for Jughead to admit, but he realized that all those years ago, when he decided that pulling into himself was safer than continuing to get closer to his friends, was a mistake. He knew this and sitting at Pop's, signing with Betty and making her laugh only made him realize more how much of a mistake that had been. But he was going to make up for lost time.


	3. Chapter 3

" **This is oral speech"  
"** _ **This is oral speech with signing"  
This is signing without oral speech.  
'this is personal/inner thoughts.'**_

 **Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome! Thank you!**

After Jughead had walked her home from Pop's, Betty's Mom was there to greet her at the door.

"Hi Mom." She said with uncertainty. ' _why is she waiting for me at the door?'_

"How was your day?" She asked.

"It was fine." Betty said. "How was yours?"

"Oh you know, this and that." She said. "I see that Jughead Jones walked you home again."

' _Ah,'_ Betty thought, ' _this is why she was waiting for me at the door.'_

"Yes, he actually asked me to the 80's/90's themed dance next week." Betty told her with a smile on her face. "He's been learning ASL for me." She added.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea, honey?" Her mom asked.

"Why do you say that?" Betty asked, even though she knew what her mom was going to say.

"He's a rough kid." She stated. "His family isn't that good."

"He's had a troubled life." Betty said, defending Jughead. "Everyone has family issues."

"Is that so?" Betty's Mom challenged.

Before Betty could think twice, she said, "Yeah Mom," Betty said with attitude, "where's Polly?" This was something that plagued Betty's consciousness. Her sister had just disappeared one day and her parents wouldn't tell Betty why. They'd tell her that Polly was sick and she had to go away to recover. But something about that didn't seem right.. Why all the secrecy?

Betty's Mom gave her a look that was filled with ice. "She's recovering Betty, we've been over this."

"Then why can't I see her, Mom?" Betty asked, tired of the same old conversation. "I miss my sister."

"We can discuss this when her recovery is going better." Her mom said vaguely. "Go work on your homework, dinner will be ready soon." She said ending the conversation by turning away from Betty and heading to the kitchen.

Going up to her room, Betty couldn't help but be annoyed with her mom. She shut her door, not caring if it was loud, because who cares? She can't hear it anyway and it was a little act of rebellion against her mom.

Betty laid on her bed and opened up a textbook and her notebook so that she looked like she was studying, but in reality she was going to text Jughead. Opening her phone and looking at her messages, she saw that she hadn't talked to Archie since their fight three weeks ago. She had texted him to reach out, but he hadn't replied. Betty wanted to try and reach out to him, but she wasn't sure why he was acting the way he was acting.

Pushing thoughts of Archie away, Betty opened up her messages with Jughead and sent him a text.

 **Did you make it home okay? -Betty**

Almost instantaneously, she received a reply. **Yes I did, thanks for checking -Jughead**

 **Thank you for asking me to the dance. I'm looking forward to going next week -Betty**

 **I'm looking forward to it too -Jughead.** This made Betty smile.

 **Do you think we should coordinate our outfits? -Betty.** She was just teasing him, but the reply she received made her smile even more.

 **Is that what dates do when they go to dances? -Jughead**. Betty wasn't sure if this was an actual date or if they were going as friends, but with that message, it was clear to Betty that they were going as more than friends and that made her very happy.

 **I think that's normally what couples do when they go to dances -Betty.** She could feel her heart pounding with what she had just sent to Jughead, but there was no going back now.

 **Oh, so we're a couple now? -Jughead.**

 **Isn't that what dating leads to? -Betty.** Where did all this boldness come from? Betty normally wouldn't do something like this, but she felt if she didn't, she'd be missing out on something amazing. She couldn't shake that feeling.

Jughead's reply took a little longer, but once she received the message, she was happy she had sent it.

 **You're right. We can start coordinating our outfits tomorrow. I'm going to plant the seeds now though, I'm thinking Kurt Cobain. -Jughead**

Betty couldn't wipe the smile off of her face as she replied with: **That would be very ironic for a deaf girl to be wearing something Nirvana related. Do you think I can pull that off? -Betty**

 **Shit. Abort mission -Jughead**

 **Haha it's okay Juggie. We can plan better tomorrow. I wouldn't mind wearing something Kurt Cobain/Nirvana related though -Betty**

 **Thanks Betty, I didn't mean to be insensitive. -Jughead**

 **It wasn't on purpose. I'm a little nervous about the dance though.. -Betty**

 **Me too, we will navigate the dance together. We have each other and your company will make the night anyway -Jughead**

 **I'm looking forward to spending the evening with you. I have to go down to dinner with my family. I'll text you later -Betty**

 **Enjoy your dinner -Jughead**

Jughead was happy with the way things were going with Betty. There text conversation proved that she liked him, at least he hoped that's what it was conveying. He shook his head trying to get his insecurities to go away.

Jughead heard his father opening another beer in the living room. Things were a mess. His dad couldn't get his act together to make his mom and sister stay and now things were in a downward spiral. Jughead honestly couldn't stand staying here another night. When he had gotten home, his dad was passed out on the couch from drinking and the first thing he does when he wakes up is open another beer.

Having enough of the situation, Jughead decided to do something about it. He packed a bag of clothes, along with some essential items and his school stuff. He was trying to pull himself out of his own world and be more open, but he couldn't do that while being in this toxic environment.

Taking a deep breath, Jughead opened his door and was ready to face his dad. Ready to tell him that he was leaving until he got his act together.


	4. Chapter 4

**I feel as though I need to explain some stuff. I've had comments where people have said that I need to make sure that Jughead doesn't learn ASL too quickly, which I'm really happy that people are paying attention to that, because I wholeheartedly agree, but I guess it is a little harder to translate to my actual writing. I'm doing my PhD right now in linguistics and I'm fluent in two languages, plus conversational in two others. I teach English as second language right now to work my way through graduate school. I realize the limitations of learning a language and how hard it is, but what I also know is that immersion is the best way to learn a language. Jughead is immersed in the language with Betty. But he is not fluent. The only fluent characters are Archie and Betty. When Jughead doesn't know a word, he fingerspells it. I didn't quite explain that very well in my writing, because I felt like it would be too redundant. Thank you for pointing this out to me so that I'm able to clear it up now.**

" **This is oral speech"  
"** _ **This is oral speech with signing"  
This is signing without oral speech.  
'this is personal/inner thoughts.'**_

 **Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome! Thank you!**

Jughead met Betty outside her home bright and early Monday morning.

 _Good morning_. He told her, seeing the surprise on her face with him being there.

 _Good morning to you too!_ She says, happy to see him.

" _What do you have going on today?"_ Jughead asks, trying to make conversation.

Betty sighs, _"I'm meeting a new student today. I'll be her peer mentor."_

 _Wow._ Jughead says. " _Is there any room in your busy schedule to hangout with me today?"_

Betty smiles, " _I think I can pencil you in."_

Mimicking the exact signs she had just used, Jughead says, _"Pencil me in?!"_ He tries to act hurt when he signs, hoping to convey the message.

Betty smiles even wider, " _I'll make time. I'll even write it with pen, if that makes you feel better."_ She jokes.

 _Good, I'm glad._ Jughead says.

Betty was surprised and quite impressed that Jughead was able to pick up on sign language so quickly and that he could even throw in his sarcasm into signing. His signing was not perfect, by any means. He still had to learn a lot of signs, because when he didn't know words to things, he would just fingerspell them. He also needed to work on body language and facial expressions when signing. But he was able to pick everything up so quickly, even if it wasn't perfect. It made her heart happy.

" _Why are you smiling?"_ Jughead asks.

Betty shrugs, " _Just thinking about a certain guy who wears a crown."_ She says coyly walking ahead of Jughead into school, leaving him with a smile and dumbfounded expression on his face.

Betty turns around and signs, _you coming, Jug?_ She signs and fingerspells his name. Jughead shakes his head a little and jogs to catch up with her, the smile still on his face.

Betty stood in the principal's office waiting for the new student to arrive. Mr. Weatherby has always been a little uncomfortable around Betty when she is without her interpreter and he was awkwardly shifting from on foot to the other.

Finally the new student arrived, with a coffee in one hand and a handbag hanging off of her elbow.

"Veronica Lodge, this is Betty Cooper. She will be your peer tutor and help you get acclimated to Riverdale." Mr. Weatherby told Veronica, making sure to speak slowly and annunciate.

"It's nice to meet you." Betty said fighting through the awkwardness that the principal was making. She stuck her hand out to shake Veronica's hand.

Veronica reciprocated and said, "It's nice to meet you too, Betty." Veronica seemed oblivious to the awkwardness or at least, she was ignoring.

"Let's go find your locker." Betty said, steering the new girl out of the office and into the hall. Once they were down the hall a bit, Betty said, "I'm sorry about Weatherby. He's really awkward around me when my interpreter isn't around."

"Interpreter?" Veronica asks.

"I'm deaf." Betty clarifies.

Veronica's eyes widen for a second and she looks really excited. She drinks the rest of her coffee and throws the cup away. Once she returns her attention back to Betty, she signs, _It's nice to meet you. I am Veronica Lodge._

Betty's eyes widen in shock, "Are you..?"

" _Deaf? No. My school has ASL as a foreign language."_ She explains.

Betty smiles, " _You know what, Veronica?"_ Betty asks, " _I think we'll be good friends."_

Sitting at their normal table outside, Jughead waited for Betty, slowly eating his lunch and reading. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Betty with another girl. Probably the new student she was mentoring.

After setting their lunch trays down, Betty says, " _Jughead, this is Veronica. Veronica this is Jughead."_

" _Are you deaf too?"_ Veronica asks, signing. Jughead is very surprised, to which he signs a quick _no._

" _I've been learning for Betty."_ He elaborates.

" _Betty, you didn't tell me you had a boyfriend!"_ Veronica says.

Betty blushes a little bit and looks at Jughead for help. To which he says, " _We're still figuring things out, Veronica."_

 _I understand._ Veronica signs and starts to dig into her lunch.

Betty says a quick _thank you_ to Jughead, before she starts eating her lunch too.

It was kind of an unspoken things between Jughead and Betty. That they were together but not officially together. They were still working things out, getting to know each other. Feeling each other out for what a relationship possibly could be. Their date this weekend would be a great way to see how being together would be.

" _Why doesn't Jughead have a sign name?"_ Veronica asks.

Betty blushes a little and says, " _I'm still coming up with it. I need it to be just right."_ She says honestly. " _Veronica's name sign is this."_ Betty says to Jughead, showing him Veronica's name sign, which ends up just being her pearl necklace.

Jughead nods, and uses Veronica's name sign to make sure he's getting it right. When Betty smiles and nods that he did, Jughead asks her, " _What are you doing Tuesday?"_

Jughead receives laughter as a response and is instantly confused. " _What?"_

" _This is the sign for Tuesday."_ Betty says, showing him the sign. " _You signed this"_

" _What did I say instead of Tuesday?"_ Jughead asks, embarrassed.

" _Bathroom."_ Betty deadpans, causing her, Veronica and Jughead to start laughing.

Correcting himself this time, Jughead asks Betty again what she's doing tomorrow. " _I don't think I'm busy, why?"_

" _I thought we could go to the thrift store to find something for the dance."_ Jughead explained.

Betty nods, " _That sounds great! Veronica, you should think about coming to the dance on Saturday. It's 80s/90s themed."_

" _Maybe! Who am I to turn down fun?"_ Veronica says with a smile.

Towards the end of lunch, Veronica excuses herself to go to the bathroom before class. Jughead and Betty start talking about this and that, when a certain redhead, who hadn't spoken to Betty in weeks, makes an appearance.

 _Betty, can we talk?_ He signs and then gives Jughead a pointed look. _Alone?_

Betty looks at Jughead, confused as to what Archie wanted to talk to Betty about alone. Plus, what was that look about? Why was Archie mad at Jughead?

Before Betty could say anything, Jughead says, _I'll see you later._

 _Are you sure?_ Betty asks, not wanting Jughead to feel left out.

 _It's fine. Talk to Archie._ He says, before leaving Betty to talk.

 _Okay.. What's up?_ Betty asks her best friend. Her best friend, who hasn't spoken to her in weeks. Who has ignored her texts and won't make eye contact with her in class. _Does it have anything to do with you ignoring me the past couple weeks?_

 _Look, I'm sorry._ Archie says. _I didn't understand why you were mad or why you had been spending more time with Jughead._

 _That's no excuse, Archie.. The three of us have been friends for years._ Betty argues. _I can spend time with Jughead if I want._

 _I know that. But it's not just hanging out, is it? There's something going on between you two._ He says.

Betty shrugs, _We're figuring it out. That's not the point though. Why have you been ignoring me?_ Betty asks, getting straight to the point.

 _This is hard to explain.._ Archie begins. _I've started writing music and playing music._

Betty felt as though she had been hit. The air was knocked out of her lungs. The reason Archie had been ignoring her was because she was deaf. He had something new in his life that she could never relate to and he didn't know how to handle it so he was ignoring her.

Since Betty hadn't said anything, Archie broke the silence by saying, _I'm playing at the dance this weekend. I'd like you to be there for support._

 _Jughead asked me to the dance, I'm going to be there anyway._ Betty said, feeling very uncomfortable with the conversation and with Archie. _I have to go, I'll talk to you later._

Without another word, Betty got up and left Archie at the table. Her whole world was imploding. Was she overreacting? Probably. But it hurt. It hurt that her best friend had been ignoring her for weeks because she was deaf. Their fight a couple weeks ago probably cemented his feelings and fears and he decided that his interest in music was something he couldn't share with Betty. So he ignored her. Just like she was planning to do to him now.

 **I guess I should also clarify that Veronica is not fluent in sign language. Just like any student that has taken a foreign language in high school, you don't become fluent. You learn the basics. I would say she knows a little more than Jughead, though she does have to fingerspell words that she does not know the signs for just like Jughead.**


End file.
